I haven’t been painting much lately as most of my time has been devoted to preparing a new website for someone very important in my life. The iconic, Canadian fashion designer, Marilyn Brooks passed away July 04, 2026.

The passing of Marilyn truly is a great loss. She meant so much to so many, and did so much for so many.

She believed in people. She recognized talent and gave people the chance to grow and flourish — she saw what they were capable of, even when they couldn’t yet see it in themselves. Anything and everything was possible with Marilyn Brooks. She was a visionary who brought ideas and people together to make magic happen.

She was my mentor from the age of 21, straight out of fashion design college. I started as her production manager, then design director and pattern drafter, fashion show assistant, and maker of all things for whatever extraordinary request came up when something special was needed for a show, a shoot, or the media. Almost 45 years later, I was still by her side, still wearing the many hats you wear when working with Marilyn. For many years I have taken care of all of her tech needs, her website, and her socials. It’s been so nice that as time marched on, and our lives changed as much as they have, that there’d be new ways we’d be working together.

Along with author Peter Jennings, we spent seven years on the making of her life story — a book called “Behind the Seams”, published in 2017, full of the crazy, exciting, wonderful stories that were life with Marilyn.

Among her many honours, Marilyn received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Order of Ontario, and the Order of Canada – a testament to her contributions to the Canadian fashion industry and philanthropy.

I consider myself so fortunate to have spent my entire adult life alongside such a dynamic, talented, and generous person. She shaped my life, introduced me to so much, and opened my mind to what is possible. She believed in me, as she did with so many others.

I will always treasure the memories and the time spent with Marilyn – in work and in play. She added such zest to everything. Work was hard, but it was fun. Everything was magical with Marilyn in it. She was such a force I know that she will never leave us. She has left her mark in us all.

Marilyn was a friend, a mentor, and an icon. I am so grateful to have had her in my life and love her dearly.

About

My Story

I am a lifelong, multi-disciplinary artist, shaped early by a father who painted in oils and by my own art programs starting at age 10. Today I work in encaustics, acrylics, and cold wax with oils, and I also pursue fine art photography — capturing the world through aviation, aerial, and landscape imagery. Encaustics, my specialty, is an ancient technique practiced by the Greeks as far back as the 5th century B.C. — older than oil painting itself. Typically worked on wooden panels, it’s a highly archival medium made from natural beeswax, damar resin crystals (a tree sap sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia), and raw pigments, with each layer fused to the last using the heat of a blowtorch.

I grew up in Toronto, spent my middle and high school years in Burlington, then studied Fashion Technique and Design in Oakville before returning to Toronto for a 22-year career in the high end of the fashion industry as a fashion designer and pattern drafter by trade.

I’ve continued broadening my knowledge of different mediums through workshops and programs taught by world-renowned artists, and I have plans underway to begin offering workshops of my own in my favourite medium: encaustics.

Over the years I’ve been grateful to receive multiple awards for my work.

My art is available through specialty stores and online, and I participate in arts festivals, fundraising events, and juried group and solo exhibitions — including at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, McMaster Innovation Park, and the Louvre in Paris, France.

My work hangs in private collections and professional offices throughout Canada, the United States, France, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

About

My Story

I am a lifelong, multi-disciplinary artist, shaped early by a father who painted in oils and by my own art programs starting at age 10. Today I work in encaustics, acrylics, cold wax with oils, and photography. Encaustics, my specialty, is an ancient technique practiced by the Greeks as far back as the 5th century B.C. – older than oil painting itself. Typically worked on wooden panels, it’s a highly archival medium made from natural beeswax, damar resin crystals (a tree sap sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia), and raw pigments, with each layer fused to the last using the heat of a blowtorch.

I grew up in Toronto, spent my middle and high school years in Burlington, then studied Fashion Technique and Design in Oakville before returning to Toronto for a 22-year career in the high end of the fashion industry, including many years with iconic Canadian designer Marilyn Brooks. I’ve called Hamilton home since 2004, where I was able to return to my art for art’s sake.

Over the years I’ve been grateful to receive multiple awards for my work. My art is available through specialty stores and online, and I participate in arts festivals, fundraising events, and juried group and solo exhibitions – including at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, McMaster Innovation Park, and the Louvre in Paris, France.

My work hangs in private collections and professional offices throughout Canada, the United States, France, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.